Workers recall day of terror at Phelon Co.

Web posted Sunday, January 28, 2001

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

Second Circuit Solicitor Barbara R. Morgan mimics holding a gun during Saturday's opening statements as she describes how four workers at Aiken's R.E. Phelon Co. plant were shot and killed. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

AIKEN - Stanley Vance limped to the witness box, put his cane by his side and told a jury why he's not the same person anymore.

A gunman with ``a cold, steel-blue look in his eyes and a look of hatred'' shot him in the chest at the security shack in front of R.E. Phelon Co. plant in 1997, the former security guard said.

That man was Arthur Hastings Wise, Mr. Vance said.

``I am totally, 100 percent disabled. I am in pain 24 hours a day, and I take medication every six hours,'' he said. ``I wish I had my life back.''

Mr. Vance was one of three shooting victims to take the stand Saturday to testify during the opening day in the death penalty trial of Mr. Wise, the Phelon ex-employee charged with killing four workers and wounding three.

In opening statements, 2nd Circuit Solicitor Barbara R. Morgan promised jurors a parade of witnesses to the ``multitude of chaos'' that erupted at the manufacturing plant when Mr. Wise returned weeks after he was fired and, she said, shot people whom he thought had wronged him.

``The evidence is going to show that there were people hiding in desks, in corners out in the fields, afraid of where he might be,'' Ms. Morgan said.

Lead defense counsel Gregory Harlow told jurors he fully expects ``a lot of damning evidence'' against his client.

Arthur Hastings Wise and one of his lawyers, Gregory Harlow, watch opening statements from the prosecution during the first day of Mr. Wise's death penalty trial in Aiken. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

``I hope you'll keep an open mind and I hope you'll keep an open heart, because even the most wretched among us are one of God's children,'' he said.

Co-counsel Carl B. Grant reminded jurors that the events of Sept. 15, 1997, represent just one day in the life of his client.

Both defense attorneys injected race into questioning throughout the day, suggesting Phelon discriminated against Mr. Wise and allowed a security guard to display a Confederate flag on his highly visible vehicle.

On Saturday, five rows of the courtroom were filled with relatives of the victims and Phelon workers who witnessed the massacre. Tissue boxes were plentiful, and security was tight.

Mr. Wise, 46, appeared in his jail uniform. At mid-afternoon, he stripped off his jacket, revealing a bright yellow jump suit. He sat quietly, writing notes and occasionally answering questions from his attorneys.

The solicitor worked quickly to provide eyewitness testimony to the carnage that stopped a routine day at the Phelon parts plant.

At the 3 p.m. shift change, Mr. Vance said, he saw the defendant's red Saturn pull up. The guard reached down to grab two boxes of Mr. Wise's personal belongings that were left there. When he stood, Mr. Vance said, Mr. Wise had a gun to his chest.

```I've got things to do,''' Mr. Vance quoted the defendant as saying.

Former R.E. Phelon Co. security guard Stanley Vance shows the court where he was shot September 1997. Mr. Vance said the shooting has left him disabled. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

He said Mr. Wise then shot him in the chest before pulling out telephone lines and running toward the human resources entrance.

Pam Morey had the telephone to her ear when she looked up and saw Mr. Wise in the human resources office. Mr. Wise ripped out the telephone and threw it, she said.

``I don't know you. Go away,'' Mr. Wise said, according to Ms. Morey.

She said she saw the defendant put a gun to the chest of her boss, Charles Griffeth.

She couldn't watch. But she heard the fatal gunshot.

Workers were hysterical, crying and scrambling to get out of the plant, said Fred Jammison, a former first-shift worker.

``We heard `Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!''' he said. ``I looked back. That's when I saw Mr. Wise. ... I yelled to everyone to get out because he's got a gun.''

Developments Mr. Wise is declared competent to stand trial Attorneys preview case in opening statements. Seven witnesses testify about the shootings.

John Mucha and Jerry Corley testified about working in the tool and die area and watching Mr. Wise enter and begin shooting. Both men were hit by gunfire and were there when Charles Moore and Leonard Filyaw were killed. Sheryl Wood also was killed in the shootings.

Mr. Mucha, who lost part of a kidney, said he fell down after being shot and called for help.

``Please get me out of here! Get me to a hospital!'' he repeatedly yelled on a work radio.

Mr. Corley, who was shot in the upper hip, said Mr. Wise ``shot at anything that moved.''

Later, police found Mr. Wise in a quality assurance office, where, a witness testified, he had ingested liquid bug killer he had brought with him in a cooking-spice bottle. He spent several days in the hospital.

Earlier Saturday, Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr. declared Mr. Wise competent to stand trial after a state psychiatrist said an examination revealed Mr. Wise thinks clearly and understands the charges.

Mr. Wise suffers from a personality disorder, said Dr. Tracy Gunter-Justice of the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute.

``He has his own way of dealing with things,'' she said.

Mr. Wise went on a 52-day hunger strike last year when jailers refused him proper stomach medication, Dr. Gunter said. He lost more than 50 pounds.

``He didn't feel like he was getting heard, and he was quite frustrated,'' she said. ``He told me today that as long as he gets his medication, he is willing to work with people.''

Testimony will continue this morning at 9 a.m.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 648-1395.

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